Fraud Meets Guilt
by Lady Lanera
Summary: Sybill's guilt finally catches up with her. Post-Hogwarts but Pre-Epilogue.


**Disclaimer:** As we know, all characters belong to J.K. Rowling. This story answers two challenges concerning Trelawney faking the ill-fated Prophecy and how it affects Severus and Harry. Thank you for reading.

 **Fraud Meets Guilt  
**

The moment the chip landed in her outstretched hand, the long-haired woman with obnoxiously thick glasses gasped and stared down at the shiny coin of sobriety. She had done it. She had finally done it. She had beat her addiction. And, yet, she knew deep down she hadn't completed the twelve steps the right way, the way so many other brave addicts before her had. Her fingers slowly curled around the sobriety chip, and her eyes closed.

" _Severus Snape: Saint or Scoundrel_ . . . get your copy today at Flourish and Blotts," a booming voice erupted suddenly from outside the window.

Her eyes flew open and darted to the window. Severus . . . Her bottom lip trembled before she choked back a sob. That poor, poor man.

"Shh, dear. I know," her sponsor quietly said with a sympathetic pat on her arm. "It is overwhelming at first. Be proud, Sybill. Don't hide your elation. You've made it. You've won the long fight and conquered your addiction. You've won."

Had she, though, she wondered, as her eyes trailed after the shouting man outside. Sure, she was sober now, but that only made her guilt eat at her quicker now.

"Severus Snape: Bravest man Harry Potter ever knew or coward? You decide! Pick up your copy of Rita Skeeter's newest best-seller _Severus Snape: Saint or Scoundrel_ at Flourish and Blotts today," the man shouted once more as he held up a copy of the book.

She couldn't bear to hear anymore. Tugging her shawl tighter around herself, she moved away from her sponsor and headed for the door. That foolish man peddling that ridiculous book of lies needed to be set straight. Everyone needed to know the truth. The truth of what she had done. Only then would she be free of her guilt, of her shame, of her cowardliness.

"Sybill?" her sponsor called out to her in obvious confusion.

She ignored the woman, though. She needed to do this. She pushed open the door and stepped out into Diagon Alley, grabbing the man just as he was about to spout more lies to the public.

"No! No more lies!" she yelled, shaking the man to quiet him. "Severus Snape is a good man!" She then pushed the man far from her, catching the shocked looks from the onlookers. She could feel the sting of the tears welling up in her eyes again. "He is a good, honest man that . . . that . . ." Her voice faltered as her emotions took over. A good honest man that she destroyed, she finished silently in her mind. They would know the truth. Severus deserved that. He and Harry both. They deserved to know the truth. The truth of what she had done. Turning on her heel, she Disapparated from the street. After twenty-three years, she would finally be honest.

* * *

Leaning back in his chair, Severus Snape, his hair now silvery-black, glanced across the way into the kitchen, where his father Tobias was attempting to show Aurora, Severus's wife, how to cook something. At the sound of soft giggles, Severus's dark eyes darted down to his lap where a little girl with tight blond ringlets sat.

"Mummy's gonna kill Grandpa," she giggled, her warm dark eyes lighting up in pure joy.

Severus snorted before he kissed the top of her head. "We can only hope, my Angel."

"Hey!" his wife cried, giving both of them a hard look. "I can do this, thank you very much. Have some faith in me."

"Yeah, Princess, about that, uh," Tobias said, scratching his head with a wince, "that ain't exactly how ya knead. It's a good start, though, but, uh, well, you see . . ."

"Oh, I give up!" She threw her hands up and shook her head as she headed back towards her husband and daughter. "I am never going to get this Muggle cooking, Severus. It's hopeless."

Severus laughed quietly, grabbing his wife's hand and threading their fingers together soon after. "Luckily, I didn't marry you for your cooking skills, Aurora," he teased.

"Daddy!" their daughter suddenly yelled. "Look! Daddy, look! It's an owl!"

Every adult looked towards the window the little girl was happily pointing at. It had been so many years since an owl had visited them.

"An owl?" murmured Eileen, Severus's mother, as she entered the room. "Severus, I thought you said you cast—"

"I did." He frowned as he stared at the familiar barn owl sitting on the windowsill.

"It's got a letter attached to it," Aurora declared soon after. Hesitating for just a moment, she then released his hand and moved towards the owl to retrieve the letter from it. "You don't suppose something's happened, do you?"

"As if any of us care anymore what happens to them," Eileen drawled, crossing her arms defensively. "Or have you forgotten how they treated my son, Aurora?"

"Of course not," his wife replied, gently removing the letter before she returned. "It's for you."

His eyes narrowed on his name before he reluctantly took the letter from her. There was only one person who could send a letter by owl to any of them anymore. And he couldn't think of a single reason Minerva McGonagall would, especially not after she had just sent them a letter in the post. His frown deepened, as he continued to stare at his name. It was clearly not Minerva's handwriting, but it was Minerva's owl, though. So, who had sent it? He glanced towards his wife when she picked their daughter up and gave her an appreciative smile. He didn't want to expose his daughter to that life quite yet. Not when she still had plenty of innocence and happiness in her.

He slid his finger underneath the flap and broke the seal, unrolling the parchment soon after.

 _I apologize for disturbing you and your family, but I must meet with you, Severus. There is something I must tell you, and a letter wouldn't do it justice. I will be at the Leaky Cauldron tonight at 5._

 _Sybill Trelawney_

"Well, who wrote ya, son?"

"A former coworker," Severus replied to his father. When he caught his wife's surprised look, he added, "Trelawney. She wants to meet with me for some reason." He heard Aurora's groan instantly.

"Of course she does. She's probably going to go on about some vision her _Inner Eye_ gave her."

"Perhaps." He chuckled and glanced at the clock. The meeting would be in less than an hour.

"You're not thinking about going, are you?" his wife and mother asked horrified.

"Well, you two are always complaining we don't get out enough. It'll be quick. I promise."

"We're so going to regret this," Aurora groaned, as they quickly got ready to leave.

* * *

Meanwhile, Harry Potter was just walking in the door to the Burrow after a long day of work at the Auror office. He shrugged off his thick Ministry-issued robes, hanging it on the hook by the door before he continued further into the house towards the voices.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," said a soft familiar voice behind him. "Mum and Ginny have been worked up about something all day. Not sure what, though."

Harry turned towards the voice and gave the tall redhead a faint smile. Ever since Fred's death, George had stuck to the shadows now and spoke very quietly. His smiles rarely found his eyes anymore. Not that Harry could blame him.

"Thanks for the warning."

George only shrugged, though, before he turned and headed towards the back of the house.

Slowly pushing open the door to the kitchen a moment later, Harry walked into the room. He caught his mother-in-law's eye instantly and gave her a smile before he slowly walked up behind Ginny.

"I'm telling you, Mum. Rodrick has no business being out there on the field," Ginny said with her back turned to Harry as she continued cutting carrots. "He's worse than Ron. You tell him to do a—AH!" She screamed suddenly as Harry's arms wrapped around her and pulled her into him. "Damn it, Harry!" Ginny grabbed her chest. "You scared me."

"That was the point," he smirked before kissing her.

"I thought you said you were going to be late tonight?"

"If you want, I can go back to the office . . ."

"Oh, shut it," she drawled, lightly hitting his arm before she glanced towards her mum.

"Go," Molly said, motioning towards the door. "I can finish this up."

Harry felt his wife's hand slip into his soon after before Ginny pulled him towards the door.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," Harry called out before they slipped away.

As soon as they were out of the house and walking down a dirt road alone, he asked, "So, should I be worried about this Rodrick guy you were talking about?"

"Why? Jealous?" Ginny replied with a wide grin. "No, Harry. He's just a teammate."

For some reason, that didn't make him feel any better, but he trusted his wife.

"So, out with it. Why are you home so early anyway? Dinner isn't for another few hours."

"I know," Harry said, shrugging. "I just wanted to surprise you."

"In other words, you didn't capture him."

"Well, we were close, but, yeah, somehow he got away again. Ron's finishing up and told me to get out of there."

Ginny rolled her eyes and laughed. "Which means he's going to sneak off with Hermione again. You know they're trying for a baby, right?"

Of course he knew that. It was all Ron ever talked about anymore.

"Harry?"

There was something in his wife's voice that caused him to stop and turn to her. She gave him a soft smile before her eyes glanced down.

"What is it?" He gently lifted her chin up so their eyes would meet again. "Ginny, what's wrong?" His eyes narrowed when she smiled at him nervously. "What?"

"Promise me you won't tell Ron and Hermione."

He blinked. Tell them what? "O-kay."

"Um, well, you know how I wasn't feeling well lately?"

"Yeah . . ." She had barely been able to eat anything for the past month. And when she did, it wasn't pretty. Not that he would make the mistake of telling her that. He still had a mark where she had hexed him last time for joking that she was keeping him up at night with all her demands of various foods. Which in hindsight was pretty stupid of him to say, he guessed.

"I'm pregnant, Harry."

"With what?" he asked before he blinked and heard what he had just asked. He was going to be a dad? Him? Harry Potter—a dad?

"What do you mean, with what?" Ginny snapped, glaring at him. "A baby, Harry. What the hell else could I be pregnant with?" She scoffed, shaking her head. "With what?" she snidely repeated. "Some days I wonder why I married you!" she yelled over her shoulder as she stormed towards the house, leaving him to stand there with his mouth open.

He was going to be a dad. However, before he could run after her, a loud screech overhead caught his attention. He glanced up and watched the owl glide gracefully down to him before dropping a rolled-up parchment into his hands. He opened it soon after.

 _I must speak with you at once, Mister Potter. There is something you must know. I will be at the Leaky Cauldron today at 5._

 _Sybill Trelawney_

Harry's eyes narrowed on the short message before he sighed heavily. He glanced towards the house, just catching the front door slamming shut behind his wife. He looked back at the message and frowned. He supposed he could meet with his former Divinations professor for a bit. Ginny clearly needed time to calm down, and he needed time to think. And if there was a good distraction, it was surely Sybill Trelawney.

He tapped his wand against his shoulder once and cast a quick spell to change his clothes. He then tapped his wand once more to cast a quick Freshening-up charm before he turned on his heels and Disapparated away. Whatever Trelawney said couldn't make things much worse for Harry after all.

* * *

With thoughts racing through his mind on possible reasons for the meeting, Severus looked out a window in one of the upstairs private rooms of the Leaky Cauldron. The man who had escorted him earlier hadn't been able to explain anything.

When he heard the doorknob turn a few minutes after he had arrived, Severus turned towards it, his hand curling around his hidden wand. It would be just his luck that all of this turned out to be a trap set up by a devout follower of the Dark Lord. When the door opened a moment later and revealed a familiar young man, his hand released his wand at once.

"Professor Snape?" the young man with bright green eyes said in obvious confusion.

Harry. He should've known better. The boy had only been trying to meet with him for years now. Severus sighed quietly. And, yet, Harry seemed just as shocked as Severus was.

"I received a letter from—"

"Trelawney?" Harry offered, wincing when he realized he had interrupted Severus. "Sorry, sir."

Severus, however, brushed off the young man's apology. "She stated there was something she needed to inform me about."

"Me too." Harry then sighed, sticking his hands into his pocket.

Severus turned away from him and glanced back out the window again. Any minute now the boy would start his incessant apologies again about the past and express his multiple displays of thankfulness for everything Severus had done for him over the years. There was only so much hero worshipping he could take from the boy, and he had reached that level the day after he had woken up in St. Mungo's to learn that he had survived Nagini's attack after all.

"I hear you're a dad now," Harry said quietly behind him. "Congratulations."

Severus closed his eyes and resisted the urge to bang his against the window.

"Thank you, Mister Potter," he murmured politely. "I'll be certain to pass your words along."

"It's weird, isn't it?" Harry announced suddenly. "That's why you haven't wanted to see me all these years. Because it's weird now."

Snorting, Severus slowly turned back towards the young man. "I haven't wanted to see you, Mister Potter, for the same reason I haven't wanted to see anyone from that world. You've made me into something I am not. My actions concerning you over the years was solely out of guilt for what I had done to your family, to your mother, Harry. That's not heroic."

"You put yourself in danger for me. Multiple times. I can't just forget that, sir."

"But I did so because of my guilt, Harry. Not because I gave a damn about you. Or did you not see me inform the Dark Lord that I did not care what he did to you or your father?"

"I saw it, but I also saw you tell Dumbledore later what you did and beg him to save all of us. You tried to correct your mistake, Professor."

Severus sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. The boy just didn't get it, and he never would. Harry only saw the world as belonging to either heroes or villains.

"I loved your mother, Harry."

"I know, sir."

"And I was the reason she was killed, because I relayed a half-heard Prophecy to him."

"But you didn't know it was about Mum, sir!"

"That doesn't excuse what I did. I am the reason your parents were killed, Harry. Me. So, forgive me, but I am no hero. Heroes, after all, do not have blood on their hands."

"I do," the young man quietly whispered. "I have blood on my hands, sir. Loads of it."

He turned towards Harry instantly, hearing the young man's voice break.

"I'm the reason Sirius died. Fred. Remus. Tonks. Moody. Hedwig. Cedric. Colin. I remember all their names, sir. Just as you remember my parents' names. That's why I saved you, sir. Because I couldn't live with myself if you had been added to that list of names. I couldn't bear to have the man who did so much to fix his mistake die. So, go ahead and deny it all you want, sir. But after all you sacrificed for me just so I would live, so I would survive, I will defend you with my last breath and tell the world, sir, of how you are a hero. Because you are, Professor. You are a hero to me."

Severus sighed. They needed to change the subject. Badly.

"I hear you and Miss Weasley have married?" If he had been a different man, Severus would have laughed when Harry's mouth dropped. "Congratulations to you as well." His eyes then darted towards the door as the doorknob squeaked and turned once more.

As the former Divinations professor entered the room, both men watched her approach them slowly with a sad, haunted look on her face. She wasn't wearing a sparkly scarf or a shawl. She wore simple black robes. Even her glasses seemed thinner than usual, and her eyes definitely seemed smaller.

"Thank you for meeting with me," Sybill quietly spoke, her eyes darting to the floor.

"Why have you asked us here?"

"Because you deserve the truth. Both of you," she replied tearfully, taking a seat in an old worn armchair across from the sofa both men sat down on.

"The truth?" Harry repeated, frowning. "The truth about what?"

Slowly, her eyes met theirs. She looked like an abused puppy staring back at them. "I faked the Prophecy. The one that started all of this darkness. I . . . I faked it. Oh God, I am so sorry. I . . . I didn't know." The sobs erupted from deep within her soul. "I am the reason your parents died, Harry. Me. Not Severus. I faked it all."

"You did _what_?!" Severus snarled, rising to his feet.

"Oh, Severus, you must forgive me. I . . . I didn't know you were there. Not until it was already too late. I . . . I needed that job. And Albus, I could see he didn't believe I was a true Seer . . . I needed that job, Severus. If I had known . . . all the pain it would cause . . . I never . . . Oh, Severus. I am so sorry," she cried, reaching towards him.

He stepped away from her, though, and glared down at her with pure hatred. The Prophecy was faked? All this time. All these years, he had thought he was the reason for Lily's death. He had been the one to relay the prophecy to the Dark Lord. He had done that. But it wasn't true, though.

"You . . . you faked the Prophecy?!" Harry yelled, finally able to speak again.

"I didn't know! I swear! I am so sorry. So sorry. I didn't know!" she sobbed, rocking back and forth on the floor.

"You think that matters to us?!" Severus snapped. "For twenty-three years, you've led me believe that I was the reason Lily and James Potter died! But it was YOU! You killed them!"

"You think I don't know that, Severus?" she shouted up at him, giving him a pitiful look. "Why do you think I started drinking so heavily?"

"I don't give a damn about your guilt, Sybill! You let me believe for twenty-three years that I was to blame! Not once did you tell me the truth. Tell Harry the truth!"

"Voldemort killed my parents all because of a faked Prophecy?" Harry's eyes hardened. "Well, I hope it was worth it, _Professor_!"

"Oh, Harry, please. I was . . . it was a mistake! Please! I didn't know! I'm just like Severus. I am. Please, Harry. Please believe me." She reached out for him as well, but Harry moved away instantly.

"Don't touch me! I-I can't believe this! You faked the whole thing?!" The green eyes darkened even more. "Did you fake the prophecy you made to me about Pettigrew as well?"

Trelawney's mouth opened and closed several times before she wailed, "YES! Oh, god, yes I did. I . . . I'm so sorry, Harry. I . . . I'm sorry. It was a mistake, though. I'm sick, you see?"

"You won't hear any arguments from us," Harry sneered, looking down at her.

"Please, Harry. You must forgive me."

"No. No I don't have to forgive you. You faked not one, but two prophecies! You are nothing like Professor Snape. Nothing!"

"Harry . . ." she begged.

"Do not touch him, Sybill," Severus snarled, throwing her back when she tried to grab the bottom of Harry's cloak again.

"I didn't know!"

"For twenty-three years, you did, though," Harry pointed out angrily. "And for twenty-three years, Professor, you let a man think he had been the reason when he wasn't. You are just as guilty as Lord Voldemort was. And if there were a way, I assure you, I would see to it that you were in Azkaban with all the other murderous cowards."

"I'm sorry! Please . . . I am so sorry!"

"That doesn't make up for what you did." Harry then turned away from her and headed for the door. He heard heavy footfalls behind him soon after, knowing that Severus was following him. As soon as they were far from the sobbing fraud, he whirled around and looked his former professor in the eyes. "You made up for your mistake, sir, a hundred times over. And you did so by taking the hard way. That is why I keep fighting for you, sir."

"I know, Harry."

The young man then clenched his jaw before he punched the wall beside him. "UGH! It's just . . . she should pay for what she did. She should . . ."

"I agree, but there is nothing we can do, Mister Potter," Severus sighed quietly. "As you stated earlier, she cannot be convicted of anything." His eyes then narrowed. "Perhaps sued for damages she inflicted upon you, taken to court for lying during her interview, but she no longer is employed at Hogwarts."

"Damages she inflicted upon us, sir," Harry corrected.

Severus inclined his head. "I've spent a lifetime being angry, Harry. Not anymore, though. She just isn't worth it. I've dealt with my guilt finally and have moved on. The anger I feel . . ." He hesitantly moved his hand towards Harry's shoulder before he gently rested it there. "No punishment we inflict on her will make up for losing your parents, Harry. It's taken me a very long time to realize that." He then glanced towards the door where he heard Sybill's cries. "It would never be enough for us. So, we must move on. To the future. Because, I assure you, being stuck in the past, as she will be, that is a far worse punishment than we ever could give her."

Harry nodded slowly.

"And in time, we may find it somewhere in our hearts to forgive her, but for now . . . we focus on our futures, Mister Potter, and move on. Let her feel the heartbreak and pain we have felt for so long. To feel the guilt weigh on her soul. And if we are lucky, she will make things right with us somehow. If not, then at least we have our families and are not alone this time."

"Thank you, sir."

Severus inclined his head again before he sighed. "Now, if you'll forgive me, I have to go prevent my wife from murdering my mother, who has likely been annoying her greatly ever since I left."

Harry laughed and nodded. Both of them went their separate ways then. Each towards their new families, their new future. However, before Harry had disappeared entirely from Severus's eyesight, Severus stopped and turned towards the younger man.

"Harry?" He waited until he stopped. "If you ever need anything . . ."

Harry smiled widely and nodded. "I know, sir." He then watched Severus walk away. "Actually, sir," Harry called out against his better judgment, "there is one thing. How do I be a good father?"


End file.
